Chapter 323: A Good Place to Go

Duan Rong held the Yellow Skin Booklet and the list of medicines, weaving between the various shelves, occasionally having to push a rolling ladder to climb up and down.

Yin Cong merely dangled a bag, following behind in a desultory manner, glancing at Duan Rong from time to time, while spending most of his time leaning against the shelves, feigning sleep or daydreaming...

When Duan Rong handed the last two bundles of medicinal herbs to Yin Cong, two bulging large bags were already resting on the ground beside him.

Inside Yin Cong's empty bag was stuffed another bag; only when one bag was nearly full would he pull the other one out.

Yin Cong smacked his lips, as if he had just had a pleasant dream. He took the two bundles of herbs handed over by Duan Rong and stuffed them into the bag at his side.

Duan Rong said, "This Silver Star Grass is the final medicinal herb. All the medicines on the list have been collected!"

"They're all collected already..."

Yin Cong put away the herbs, folded his arms, and leaned back against the edge of a shelf; he had been preparing to continue his previous erotic dream, but suddenly heard Duan Rong say this.

Yin Cong stood up while yawning, walked to the window, and looked at the sky outside.

Although a thick fog was pervasive, it was still possible to see that the daylight had begun to dim; it seemed that before long, twilight would descend.

"It's getting late. Let's go, head to the first floor. Settle the bill and head back!" Yin Cong waved his hand grandly and rotated his somewhat stiff neck.

The two were currently in a corner on the third floor of the pavilion.

Duan Rong had just found two medicinal herbs and quickly grasped the knack of it.

He first sorted the herbs on the list by floor, and only then did he search floor by floor.

This way, it saved running back and forth between floors, and also avoided omissions.

The two, each dangling a bag, arrived in front of the curved counter on the first floor.

Behind that counter was a middle-aged woman; as soon as she saw those two bulging bags, her brows immediately furrowed into a 'chuan' shape. She turned into the room behind the curved counter and called three people out.

The group then began to count the medicines in the two bags together.

Yin Cong placed both hands on the counter and leaned toward a young, pretty female disciple among the group, striking up a conversation with her.

That female disciple, while clicking the abacus, counted the small pile of herbs beside her without even lifting her eyelids.

Yin Cong's face immediately became unable to hold its composure, and he looked awkwardly at Duan Rong beside him. He realized that Duan Rong was not looking at him at all, but was still flipping through the Yellow Skin Booklet in his hands.

Yin Cong walked over, draped himself over Duan Rong's shoulder, and smiled, "Senior Brother didn't misjudge you; you really are a thoughtful person. Keep looking more; this errand of finding medicine will depend on you from now on."

Duan Rong dropped his shoulder, shaking off Yin Cong's arm, and said coldly, "Senior Brother, are you really not ashamed?"

Yin Cong said urgently, "Disciple, don't think Senior Brother is taking advantage of you. That fellow Chen Hu isn't a good person either, and he arrived earlier than me. When I do this errand with him, I'm just following behind carrying the bags. It's not that that fellow Chen Hu doesn't want to boss me around, it's just that I really can't do this work. Just looking at this dense Yellow Skin Booklet makes my head swell the moment I flip it open. It's not like you, Disciple, who can look at it so intently... Disciple, you are capable, so please be more understanding of your Senior Brother..."

Duan Rong glanced at Yin Cong, not knowing how much of what he said was true and how much was false.

However, even if Yin Cong hadn't said anything, Duan Rong had originally intended to take on this job of flipping through the Yellow Skin Booklet to find medicine.

He took on this job, but it wasn't out of consideration for Yin Cong.

Although Duan Rong had not been in this place of Shang Xiangyu for long, he had already seen that among these people, the truly dangerous fellows were actually Pan Yong and Chen Hu.

Compared to these two, Yin Cong's shrewdness and cultivation were much shallower.

But Duan Rong was willing to take on this job because he had his own considerations.

He wanted to see if he could use Shang Xiangyu's Star Disk authorization to redeem the auxiliary medicine "Green Pupil" for his Fourth Layer of the Womb Treasury Sutra.

Of course, the premise was not to leave any traces that could be grabbed by others.

The two waited in front of the curved counter for about half a stick of incense's time before the medicines in the two bags were finished being counted.

The middle-aged woman behind the counter was busy for a while, with fine sweat dripping from her forehead, before she looked at the two and said, "It is nine hundred and twenty-one points in total."

Upon hearing this, Yin Cong was stunned for a moment.

Duan Rong turned his head to look at him and asked in a low voice, "What, is it wrong?"

Yin Cong shook his head secretly and did not answer.

Before Yin Cong came, Pan Yong had already calculated the exchange points for these medicines; it seemed he had said nine hundred and eleven points, but hearing the points reported by the middle-aged woman, Yin Cong was a bit uncertain.

He hesitated for a moment, then took out the Star Disk and handed it to the middle-aged woman behind the counter.

Inside the circular groove along the edge of the front of the Star Disk, there were six small holes, numbered Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, and Ji. Inserting a key with a specific pattern into different holes could deduct the corresponding digit.

That middle-aged woman first took out a black iron key and turned it nine times in the Ding hole, then changed to another black iron key and turned it twice in the Wu hole, and finally took out a black iron key and turned it once in the Ji hole.

Then she handed the Star Disk back to Yin Cong. Yin Cong had watched the entire process of the middle-aged woman's manipulation closely. At this moment, he took the Star Disk, looked at the numbers on the disk, and rubbed his fingers while calculating...

Duan Rong only glanced at the face of the disk and said, "It is correct."

"Is it?" Yin Cong looked at Duan Rong suspiciously.

Duan Rong said, "Eight six five five minus nine two one is seven seven three four."

This time, not only was Yin Cong looking at him, but even the middle-aged woman behind the counter was looking at him with a strange expression.

Duan Rong looked at the two and said, "This is Mental Abacus Calculation."

When Duan Rong was checking accounts at the Yuanshun Escort Agency, he had devoured the Spirit Tool of the abacus genius Li Jun, and thus acquired this ability for mental calculation.

"Mental Abacus Calculation? Really or fake?" Although Yin Cong heard Duan Rong say this, he still took the abacus on the counter and started clicking it.

Yin Cong clicked the abacus beads for a while and found that it was indeed as Duan Rong had said, so he praised him half-truly and half-falsely, "Impressive, Disciple."

The two dangled the two bags of medicine and prepared to leave.

Just as Duan Rong was about to walk away, the woman behind the counter suddenly asked, "Kid, do you really know Mental Abacus Calculation?"

Duan Rong smiled and did not answer.

The woman immediately asked, "Nine eight six five minus three nine seven seven, what is the number?"

Duan Rong had already turned around at that time, and only a faint sentence drifted over.

"Five eight eight eight."

Upon hearing this, the woman immediately furrowed her brows and started clicking away on the abacus beads on the counter with a clatter.

After a few breaths, the woman looked at the number on the abacus, suddenly raised her head, her beautiful face filled with astonishment.

She stared intently, only to see that the two had already left the pavilion.

The woman immediately called toward the room behind her, "Shanzhi, come over and cover for me for a while."

Once the shout was finished, she ran out from behind the counter.

Duan Rong and Yin Cong had already left the Medicine Pavilion, the two of them chatting as they walked.

Yin Cong was a chatterbox, and Duan Rong, being a newcomer, also wanted to hear more about the Sect's lore, so he coaxed him to talk more.

As the two were chatting, a whistling sound came from behind them, and then, a figure flashed and blocked the path a short distance in front of Duan Rong.

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat. "What fine movement technique."

Although the woman's figure had just settled, with her golden hairpin and dangling hairpin, her eyes were already brimming with ripples as she looked at Duan Rong with a smile and said, "This little brother, you are a Registered Disciple, right?"

Duan Rong said, "That is correct. I wonder what advice you have, Madam?"

This woman could be inside the Medicine Pavilion's building, and her movement technique was so miraculous, so she was clearly no mediocre person.

The woman smiled and said, "I have a good opportunity to introduce to you."

"A good opportunity?" Duan Rong frowned.

The woman said, "It is to help me work at that building's counter. I will give you two Contribution Points a day. How about it? You only need to help me take inventory and calculate accounts; you don't need to worry about anything else."

Duan Rong's heart stirred.

He had seen the notices on the bulletin board in front of the Guanglu Courtyard. Repairing palaces and mining copper ore were both eight Contribution Points for five days.

This woman was offering ten points for five days, and the work at the counter was certainly much easier than repairing palaces or mining copper ore.

More importantly, if he could work inside that building, he could more clearly understand the building's daily management and operations, and could also use this to find some of its loopholes.

After all, if he wanted to use Shang Xiangyu's Star Disk to exchange for a Green Pupil, the prerequisite was safety; he could not let things be exposed and have people settle scores later.

If he could go work at the building's counter, wouldn't that be like a thief guarding the treasury?

It sounded easy, didn't it!?

Furthermore, since the auxiliary medicines for the fourth and fifth levels of the Womb Treasury Sutra were mutated species from the twisted space underground, it was likely that the subsequent auxiliary medicines would be the same.

Working at the building's counter was, in the long run, also beneficial to him.

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Thank you, Madam! Master Shang is currently busy refining medicine, so he is quite occupied. I will consider this matter. We shall meet again when there is time!"

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he pulled Yin Cong, walked past Xia Honghua's side, and headed toward the iron chains at the cliff's edge.

Xia Honghua called out from behind him, "Once you've considered it, remember to come find me!"

Duan Rong did not look back, only pausing his figure for a moment.

Xia Honghua watched Duan Rong's back, a look of contemplation appearing in her eyes.

Duan Rong's words just now seemed to mean he might agree, but he hadn't said it for sure.

"Could it be that the Contribution Points I offered were too low?" Xia Honghua muttered to herself with a puzzled look.

However, she then shook her head. "Two Contribution Points a day is already not low! Any higher, and others will say I'm keeping a boy toy..."

As Xia Honghua said this, she swayed her waist and walked back into the Medicine Pavilion.

Duan Rong and Yin Cong walked together toward the iron chains at the cliff's edge. The two had already walked some distance, and Yin Cong was still looking back. He turned his head to glance at Duan Rong and said, "Disciple, that job is pretty good! You just entered the mountain and don't know that it's not easy for us Registered Disciples to earn some Contribution Points! Repairing palaces and mining copper ore are already considered good jobs; although they are tiring, there is no danger and they aren't annoying. Whenever such jobs are posted, they are filled in a single day. They aren't available every day."

"Is that so?" Duan Rong hadn't expected that repairing palaces and mining copper ore were so highly sought after.

"What did you think?"

Duan Rong said, "But I saw some tasks that offer several dozen Contribution Points?"

Yin Cong's expression changed, and he said, "Never do those kinds. Senior Brother is telling you this because I think you're a decent person. Think about it, who would give you several dozen Contribution Points for nothing?"

Duan Rong's eyes flickered. He remembered the note on the task to assist in capturing Origin Beast cubs, which said that the task had a certain degree of danger.

Yin Cong said, "Disciple, those who can earn Contribution Points at the Medicine Pavilion are not ordinary people. If you can get in, that's like latching onto a big shot! You really should have agreed immediately just now."

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Isn't Master Shang going to refine medicine? He doesn't have time recently. We'll talk about it after this busy spell."

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he suddenly looked at Yin Cong with a serious expression and said, "Also, Senior Brother, I must ask you to keep this secret for me. For now, only you and I know about this. If it spreads at Master Shang's place, it must have come from you, Senior Brother."

Although Duan Rong's tone was calm and easygoing, the threatening implication and his deep, sharp gaze still made Yin Cong's expression freeze.

Yin Cong paused for a moment before smiling and saying, "Don't worry, Disciple. Don't look at me as a chatterbox. I know what should be said and what shouldn't."

Duan Rong said, "I knew you would understand my predicament, Senior Brother. After all, we are going to be working together for a long time..."

"That's true, that's true." The look in Yin Cong's eyes as he looked at Duan Rong had already changed.

When the two crossed the iron chains and returned to Shang Xiangyu's place, the sky was already pitch black.

The two walked to the entrance of Pan Yong's cave and handed him the two bags of medicine and Shang Xiangyu's Star Disk.

Pan Yong stood at the cave entrance; a Candle Lamp was lit inside, and the dim candlelight shone out from the cave, leaving a patch of dark, mottled light and shadow at the entrance.

Pan Yong took the two medicine bags, weighed them, and placed them by his feet. Then he took out the Star Disk and looked at it under the light from the cave entrance. His expression immediately changed, and he glared at Yin Cong, coldly saying, "Why were ten extra points deducted?!"

Yin Cong's expression froze, and he stubbornly said, "How were they extra?"

"How were they not?" Pan Yong's expression was very ugly as he said, "I listed the inventory last night and calculated it once. I also told you this morning that it was nine hundred and eleven points. Why did you deduct nine hundred and twenty-one points?"

Pan Yong shook the Star Disk in his hand as he spoke.

Once Yin Cong heard Pan Yong say this, he knew that he and Duan Rong must have made a mistake somewhere. "I said I couldn't do this job. Why didn't you just arrange for Chen Hu and Duan Rong to do it? Why did you have to give it to me?"

As Yin Cong spoke, he glanced at Duan Rong beside him. Today at the Medicine Pavilion, he had appeared to be dozing, but in reality, his eyes had almost never left Duan Rong for a moment. He could be almost certain that throughout the entire process, Duan Rong had not hidden any medicine.

At the Medicine Pavilion counter, when that woman reported nine hundred and twenty-one points, he had felt a jolt, feeling like something was wrong, but he wasn't quite sure.

Because in the past, Pan Yong had always handled the handover with Chen Hu, and Chen Hu had recorded both the inventory and the numbers. This was his first time leading, and since those two numbers were very similar, he had been distracted. He hadn't expected that a mistake would actually occur.

Pan Yong said, "Chen Hu has Chen Hu's work, and you have your work. Disciple Yin Cong, saying that, are you blaming me?"

Yin Cong said, "How would I dare blame you, Senior Brother? If you don't blame me, I'll be burning incense and praying to Buddha."

Pan Yong sighed and said, "Since it's off by ten points, and you were responsible for this, Disciple, let's just deduct ten points from your share to make up for it. How about that?"

"Please do as you wish, Senior Brother!" Yin Cong said, then flicked his sleeves and left.

Duan Rong immediately chased after Yin Cong.

Duan Rong asked as he walked, "What should we do about these ten points? Senior Brother, it might have been me who took the wrong medicine when I was picking it up."

Yin Cong stopped and said, "It's fine."

Duan Rong said, "How about I take the list to the Medicine Pavilion tomorrow to check the accounts and see where the error is?"

Yin Cong gave a cold snort and said, "You think you can just check them if you want to? Do you think the people at the Medicine Pavilion are that easy to talk to? Only when people from the Ruling Sect Justice Division go will the Medicine Pavilion allow the accounts to be checked; for anyone else, it's out of the question."

"Is that so?" Duan Rong stood behind Yin Cong, his eyes flickering.

In fact, this discrepancy of ten points was something Duan Rong had created on purpose. He had deliberately taken three qian more of Silver Star Grass.

The list stated three qian of Silver Star Grass, but he had taken six qian.

He had created this discrepancy precisely to take the opportunity to fish for information from Yin Cong.

The accounts at the Medicine Pavilion could only be checked by the Ruling Sect Justice Division. This was clearly a very important piece of information.

That meant that the risk of Duan Rong using Shang Xiangyu's Star Disk to exchange for Green Pupil was actually very low.

Unless people from the Ruling Sect Justice Division locked onto Shang Xiangyu or locked onto him and went to check the Medicine Pavilion accounts they had handled, there was no way they could discover he had once exchanged for Green Pupil.

(End of chapter)